The Last Transaction the Twins Should Make Before Opening Day

[renabanena]

While Tyler Duffey’s velocity concerns appear to be resolved, the prospect of a diminished Duffey shined a light on how fragile a bullpen can be. The Twins could still use one more arm to shore up the bullpen, and there’s a World Series champion waiting for a call.In case you missed it, Duffey’s fastball early this spring was, well, less fast. Twins Daily’s Cody Pirkl pointed this out during Duffey’s outing on March 9.

 

 

Luckily, Duffey’s heater looked more like we’re used to seeing from him in his appearance Tuesday. Here are more details from Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic.

 

 

If Duffey’s fastball lost its effectiveness, the Twins would lose one of their most stable pitchers and would need to pivot to other arms in high-leverage situations. It appears there’s no longer concern about Duffey, but that doesn’t mean the Twins are completely out of the woods.

 

This brings us to the next question, who is the next most stable arm in the bullpen and can handle such high leverage situations? After the departures of Trevor May, Sergio Romo, Tyler Clippard, and Matt Wisler, four pillars and veterans of the bullpen last season, the Twins only signed one big name reliever in Alex Colomé, with Hansel Robles and Shaun Anderson to supplement.

 

With Randy Dobnak and Lewis Thorpe’s early spring training success, it’s likely that they’ll be used in starting or long reliever roles. Cody Stashak falls under the same umbrella. The aforementioned Colomé and Taylor Rogers will be saved for late innings. This leaves a potential gap and a need to address in the Twins’ bullpen. One of the biggest advantages that the Twins had last season was depth. The Bomba Squad was carried to the offseason by their pitching, not their offense.

 

Adding a trustworthy, veteran arm to the bullpen is a safe bet that can only bring good, not harm. With only $40M dollars spent in the offseason and a total payroll of $117M, the Twins are still in a safe position to sign one last bullpen piece before Opening Day. Although there are slim pickings left on the Free Agent board, one last veteran quietly remains.

 

David Robertson did not pitch in 2020, due to a setback from Tommy John surgery, but prior to this, Robertson was one of the best relievers in baseball for 11 seasons. An 11th reliever with 11 seasons of experience is the perfect final addition to the Twins’ bullpen. According to MLB’s Mark Feinsand, Robertson recently threw in a showcase, where his fastball velocity reached 92 mph, his career average fastball speed.

 

 

At 35 years old, Robertson is on the later end of his career, but he would be one of the only relievers in the bullpen with extensive Postseason experience and a World Series ring. Since Robertson was called up by the Yankees to replace legendary reliever Mariano Rivera, he’s had six postseason appearances in thirteen series, one of which was against Minnesota when he held the Twins to three hits and no runs in 3 1/3 innings. While Robertson’s career statistics can be dissected further, it’s impossible to quantify the value of Robertson’s veteran presence and postseason experience. With how low his current value is due to missing all of 2020, the Twins can sign Robertson on a one-year steal, akin to their Hansel Robles deal.

 

Even if all the relievers currently on the roster pan out, it still wouldn’t hurt to have a reliever like Robertson on the team. Not only do the Twins need to prepare for situations that test their depth in the regular season (say it with me, no more Taylor Rogers on consecutive days), but the Twins also need to focus on how they can make an impact on a playoff game. Robertson would be the man for this job.

 

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[rdehring]

Was surprised when I read your comment that the Twins payroll heading into opening day was $117M. Most reports I have seen indicated that they were close to or at $130M. Which is it?

[Darius]

As a Twins’ fan, the dumpster diving and cutting back of payroll irritates me. It tells me you’re not serious about taking advantage of this window the win a championship.

 

If you need a trustworthy bullpen arm, go get a freaking trustworthy bullpen arm, not all of these guys off the scrap heap.

 

This is why we’ve lost 18 straight playoff games. Half-assing.

[dex8425]

 

Was surprised when I read your comment that the Twins payroll heading into opening day was $117M. Most reports I have seen indicated that they were close to or at $130M. Which is it?

Spotrac says 117. 16th in MLB, below league average. CWS are at 123.  https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/minnesota-twins/payroll/

[cHawk]

 

Was surprised when I read your comment that the Twins payroll heading into opening day was $117M. Most reports I have seen indicated that they were close to or at $130M. Which is it?

 

It’s around $117M, which is a step back from last year. Smh.

[puckstopper1]

 

It’s around $117M, which is a step back from last year. Smh.

 

Please keep in mind that revenues were down significantly last season, and will be this season as well.

 

That said, financially the Twins *should* be able to bring in another strong BP arm if they feel it is needed.

[IndianaTwin]

I've always been a Robertson fan, so yes, on the condition that it also comes with a $250K/$500 buyout on the option for 2022.  

[cHawk]

 

Please keep in mind that revenues were down significantly last season, and will be this season as well.

 

That said, financially the Twins *should* be able to bring in another strong BP arm if they feel it is needed.

 

Of course then the question is “Will they?” We can only hope.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Was surprised when I read your comment that the Twins payroll heading into opening day was $117M. Most reports I have seen indicated that they were close to or at $130M. Which is it?

 

 

Spotrac says 117. 16th in MLB, below league average. CWS are at 123.  https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/minnesota-twins/payroll/

 

Cot's has it at $125 mil:

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QXhMYkMxJE1VJvZiNMS1X7OHPFNaIVUjd-m1ZBCzHL4/edit#gid=1520401900

[South Dakota Tom]

My very strong sense is that the Twins will not add a ML guaranteed contract barring injury. The ability to utilize multiple relievers with options in the last two spots effectively expands your relief corps to 12-14 guys. Fill it with 8 vets and you shut down that flexibility, which is the third rail for this FO.

[darin617]

Shane Greene should be considered as well. If things got really messed up he can close.

[Danchat]

 

Was surprised when I read your comment that the Twins payroll heading into opening day was $117M. Most reports I have seen indicated that they were close to or at $130M. Which is it?

I thought we were at $128-$131M... I think some projections included some of Maeda's incentives, however. 

[DocBauer]

Regarding payroll, I've also read different $ numbers at different sites. And I could be wrong, but I think FanGraphs at $129M is the most accurate and seems to track the various running totals presented here on TD. With incentives, primarily Maeda, the projected final number is around $134M. Depending on where you look, the adjusted 2020 payroll was around $138-140M. So they are very close to the projected numbers of last year.

 

In regard to Robertson, he was on my 2nd tier of want and "why not" list. He's had a fine career and I have been very surprised someone hasn't given him a look-see at this point. You would think he'd be worth a couple $M with some incentives. I can only assume that there simply wasn't enough known about his recovery, early enough, for anyone to make a move when the FA glacier finally nudged forward.

 

I would have no problem with the Twins taking a closer look. He could be a steal. But at this point, aren't we talking about a milb deal with incentives and an opt out? I would do that though, in a heartbeat.

[mikelink45]

No - stay with what we have.  No more looking to the left overs and I love left overs - if they are turkey or other great foods.  

[Linus]

This is not a playoff contending team (as in advancing in the playoffs). They are at least one arm short in the bullpen and their offense is feast or famine. Guess which one you get facing playoff pitching?

[cHawk]

 

This is not a playoff contending team (as in advancing in the playoffs). They are at least one arm short in the bullpen and their offense is feast or famine. Guess which one you get facing playoff pitching?

 

The Twins beat the likes of Castillo, Bieber, Giolito, and Darvish. They also struggled Mightily against trash SPs like Tarik Skubal. When you look at that, you'll notice that quality of the SP had negligible effect on how the offense did. They were inconsistent as hell all season long, and quality of the SP had no noticeable effect on this offense. Therefore, the argument that this offense only beats trash SPs and struggles mightily against Aces falls completely flat. They've looked flat all ST this year, including against AA/AAA pitchers. Maybe is our offense just...IDK...terrible?

 

IDK...until this offense plays a playoff game where the hitters (and the manager) don't have their heads up their @$$es I wouldn't worry so much about the pitching.

[Richard Swerdlick]

Get him.

[Shaitan]

RP is the easiest position to add at the trade deadline, often the cheapest to trade for, and the most volatile position. It makes sense to wait to stock up.

[Major League Ready]

 

I thought we were at $128-$131M... I think some projections included some of Maeda's incentives, however. 

 

That's it ... A lot of projections only list Maeda's base salary. With Maeda at $9M it comes out to $129M.

[Trov]

 

As a Twins’ fan, the dumpster diving and cutting back of payroll irritates me. It tells me you’re not serious about taking advantage of this window the win a championship.

If you need a trustworthy bullpen arm, go get a freaking trustworthy bullpen arm, not all of these guys off the scrap heap.

This is why we’ve lost 18 straight playoff games. Half-assing.

Just about every team cut payroll this year.  Twins are still in middle of league in spending. We are spending almost 70 mil more than Tampa, and Tampa is expected to be fighting for playoffs, just like us.  Spending big does not mean you will win, you need to spend right.  If you can find a good arm for cheaper why not do it?  

[Twinsrule1991]

I like Robertson. I think this would be a good buy low, high reward move!

[Major League Ready]

 

As a Twins’ fan, the dumpster diving and cutting back of payroll irritates me. It tells me you’re not serious about taking advantage of this window the win a championship.

If you need a trustworthy bullpen arm, go get a freaking trustworthy bullpen arm, not all of these guys off the scrap heap.

This is why we’ve lost 18 straight playoff games. Half-assing.

 

Why would you be irritated? Do you think revenue won’t go down this year or do you think spending is not driven by revenue? Would you spend the same amount if you lost a significant portion of your income? Just a little common sense and you will find there is no reason to be irritated. You could instead be happy that we were able to fill the free agent losses with good replacements in spite of the anticipated revenue losses.